The Torrance County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) would like to recognize a great example of interagency cooperation amongst East Mountain law enforcement agencies, including the Edgewood Police Department, New Mexico State Police, Moriarty Police Department, and the Estancia Police Department.
On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by officers with the Edgewood Police Department (EPD) regarding a suspect that they were seeking in relation to a series of recent property crimes in their area. Edgewood PD officers had gathered information that this suspect, who already had felony warrants for their arrest, was armed and had made threats to engage law enforcement if confronted. Edgewood PD continued to gather information as TCSO began searching for the suspect. While following up on one of these tips, TCSO located the suspect vehicle at an address on Poplar Avenue in Moriarty, NM. TCSO and Edgewood PD began covert surveillance on the residence.
During this same time, TCSO deputies were dispatched to a serious multi-vehicle crash south of Moriarty. The nature of this call required multiple units to respond. In order to allow TCSO to continue to focus resources on the safe apprehension of the suspect in the Edgewood case, the Estancia Police Department graciously sent two of their personnel without hesitation to assist the TCSO Traffic Unit at the scene of the crash.
Meanwhile, as the covert surveillance continued, TCSO and Edgewood PD were able to positively confirm that the suspect was indeed at the residence in Moriarty. With the additional assistance of the Moriarty Police Department and the New Mexico State Police, deputies and officers were able to safely apprehend the suspect without incident. Following the arrest of the suspect, TCSO remained at the residence while Edgewood PD officers obtained and executed a search warrant for evidence related to their investigation.
Although interagency cooperation is not necessarily uncommon, the events of this day illustrate how important it really is in an effort to overcome the limited law enforcement resources in our rural communities.
Thank you to all the officers from each agency.
Original source can be found here.
